Do you wonder if your child loves music, or if they have the potential to be a musician or dancer someday?
Maybe you can tell your toddler is interested in music by the way he bops up and down when a commercial comes on, or by noticing your baby’s eyes widen and legs kicking in response to music in the environment.
All children are sounders and movers, and their natural aptitude for music blossoms in a sufficiently rich music environment. In fact, when immersed in a supportive music environment, children learn to sing and dance as naturally as they learn to walk and talk.
How is this possible? Children learn differently than adults. They learn instinctively and constantly.
They teach themselves through imitation and play, and through every interaction with adults and older children. An essential ingredient of a rich music environment is the parent enthusiastically modeling live music making.
Did that last sentence send a little shock through your system? If so, relax!
Music development researchers have found that regardless of how musically talented you are, you can be an effective model for your child. It’s because it’s all about your enthusiasm for making music, not how well you do it. PHEW!
Music Together Classes
Music Together classes can help a lot, by teaching you lots of fun songs in a wide range of tonalities, meters and styles and engaging ways to “do” the songs at home with your children.
The mixed-age classes enables siblings to attend together, creating an ideal learning environment where infants, toddlers, and preschoolers can freely participate at their own levels.
And singing and playing together in a community of families is so refreshing and fun after a year of pandemic living! Each family takes home a songbook and audio recording to keep the music flowing at home all week long.
Over time, with the repeated pattern of exposure to the enriched music environment and experimentation with its elements your child will take another step towards becoming a confident and joyful music maker and a mover and shaker! Then they can decide if they want to master an instrument, become a ballerina, or just singalong or dance in everyday ways for pleasure.
Guest post contributed by Jen G at Musictogetherfamily.com. Learn about music classes on their website.